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Christy Sadler

    • About Me:

      Hi everyone, my name is Christy and I live in London. I am a PhD student so I work as a science researcher. Outside of the lab, I love swimming, cooking and eating chocolate!

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      Before starting my PhD, I studied Chemistry at the University of Oxford. I really wanted to use all of the Chemistry I had learnt to try to help people! So, I started a PhD at Imperial College London where I develop new diagnostic tests to diagnose illness (this is similar to the Covid tests we have all been using at home!).

      Outside of the lab, my favourite things to do are swimming (I used to swim 8 times a week!) and cooking for my friends and family. I love trying out new recipes from different cuisines!

    • My pronouns are:

      she/her

    • My Work:

      Have you ever used one of the at home Covid tests? My work is trying to make tests similar to this to diagnose other illnesses!

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      The Covid tests we all used at home are called Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs) or Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs). My research is trying to make new lateral flow tests to diagnose a range of diseases, from Covid to different cancers. I am trying to make sure my tests are suitable for everyone to use so get to talk to different patients to make sure that they can use my new tests at home!

    • My Typical Day:

      I normally wake up at 7:30 AM and have a coffee (with a sugar in it).

      I eat my breakfast on the way to the lab, and arrive in the lab at around 8:45 AM.

      Most of my work is done in the lab, but sometimes I have lots of meetings about exciting new projects!

      I always have lunch with my friends and like to go for a short walk to get some fresh air.

      I go home at 5:30 PM and make a tasty dinner with my flatmate.

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      I like to do some exercise in the morning so sometimes walk into the lab which takes around 40 minutes.

      In the lab, lots of my work involves ‘optimising’ different things. Optimising just means trying to make things work a bit better! For me, I try to make my lateral flow tests show more intense lines so that people will know if they have an illness or not!

      I normally plan what I am having for dinner on my way home! I like to have a snack to keep me going (and because I really like chocolate!).

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I have a chronic health condition and disability. I would love to increase awareness about the amazing work people with chronic health conditions are doing in STEM subjects. I would like to act as a role model for young people to increase visibility of people with chronic health conditions in STEM and provide resources on how to make STEM work more accessible (for example, adaptive equipment etc.).

    My CV

    • Education:

      Wycombe High School

      University of Oxford- Chemistry Degree

      Imperial College London- PhD Study

    • Qualifications:

      GCSEs: 11 A*, A in Free Standing Maths Qualifications

      AS Levels: AAAA (Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry)

      A Levels: A*AA (Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry)

      MChem (Hons): First (Masters in Chemistry)

       

    • Work History:

      Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care- Work Shadowing

      Oxford Royale Academy- Campus Coordinator

      Interview Helper and Outreach Ambassador- St Peter’s College, University of Oxford

      Demonstrator Ambassador- Department of Materials, Imperial College London

       

    • Current Job:

      PhD Student at Imperial College London (Prof Molly Stevens, Department of Materials)

    • My Interview

      • What did you want to be after you left school?

        I didn't really know! I knew I loved science but I did consider being a medical doctor!

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        I was quite well behaved but I forgot my ingredients for food tech once and got in trouble!

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        I think I would train to be a medical doctor

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Mahalia

        What's your favourite food?

        Chocolate

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        To be able to read people's minds, to be able to have an unlimited supply of chocolate, to be able to make all my experiments work!

        Tell us a joke.

        What do you call a cheese that's not yours? Nacho Cheese

Questions answered by Christy

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